


Paper Trails of Endearment

by elderwitty, squidgie



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Gift Exchange, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21896335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elderwitty/pseuds/elderwitty, https://archiveofourown.org/users/squidgie/pseuds/squidgie
Summary: Sometimes, it's not what you say, it's how you say it.
Relationships: Evan Lorne/Parrish, Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Comments: 25
Kudos: 129
Collections: Stargate Atlantis Secret Santa 2019





	Paper Trails of Endearment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Goddess47](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goddess47/gifts).



Rodney groggily reached for John, only to find cool sheets. He was no doubt on a run, or working out with Ronon or Lorne, up earlier than Rodney ever was willingly. Spotting the note on his bedside table, he smiled, thinking about their relationship. They'd gotten together a couple of years ago, soon after Rodney’s near-death experience with the brain parasite.

He'd tried for a couple of weeks to tell John what he'd been thinking since they returned from the shrine, but could never find the words. It finally came to him as he helped Jeannie pack the night before she left – when you lost nearly every memory you’d ever made but still remembered your best friend, that had to mean something. Something big.

Right after Jeannie left for Earth, Rodney took John back to his quarters. Once there, he still couldn't form the words, so he took a leap of faith by stepping forward and wrapping one hand around John’s wrist. When John smiled, Rodney found the courage to lean in and kiss him.

 _“Do you wanna have lunch today?”_ It seemed simple. In reality, though, it was much more difficult. Sure, they’d returned to Pegasus with a full complement of scientists and Marines. And their three ZPMs (courtesy of a successful mission to a newly explored Ancient outpost) meant that the city was fully operational – including their own ZPM manufacturing lab, which came online about an hour after the third ZPM was seated. It _also_ meant there was that much more to do, and they seemed to share meals less and less often. But, no matter what, Rodney looked forward to curling up with John every night in their new, combined quarters.

The post-it notes were John's. The city’s processes were much more streamlined when everything went digital, but the same John who preferred physical books to the city's digital library had brought post-it notes to the Pegasus galaxy. And used them for just about everything.

Rodney read the note again before dropping it on the bedside table. He gathered clean clothes from the dresser, then headed for the bathroom and a steaming shower. His skin was bright pink by the time he finished, and he picked up the scent of… “Coffee?” As soon as he peeked around the door, he was hit in the face with a towel. Lowering it revealed a sweaty John sitting next to a tray with two cups and a carafe of coffee and smirking at him. 

“I knew there was a reason I loved you,” Rodney said as he finished toweling off. He tied the towel around his waist and walked over, noticing that the post-it had been moved and was now tacked onto the small bulletin board John had mounted between the bed and a small desk. Then John distracted him by tugging on the towel. And once the coffee was safely stashed on the bedside table, he pulled Rodney down on top of him.

It was his favorite way to start the day.

~*~*~

Rodney longed for a day off as he put out fire after fire. Usually those were figurative, but today his face felt scorched as he manned a hose. A newbie scientist had set off a chain reaction that resulted in a good portion of the east pier blowing up, and now it was all hands on deck to save whomever they could. He’d watched in horror as John and Ronon ran into a still-blazing area and helped direct water to the area, not letting out his breath until they reappeared with a survivor.

“That’s everybody,” John said as he helped Ronon lower the burned scientist to a waiting stretcher.

They also needed to contain the fire and prevent damage to the rest of Atlantis. Luckily, the Daedalus had been docked far away enough to escape damage in the initial explosion. Metal groaned as marines and scientists worked together to douse the flames, even as another explosion rocked the structure somewhere far below. 

“I’ve got an idea,” Rodney said. He grabbed John, then convinced Hermiod and Caldwell to board the Daedalus, where he and Hermiod reconfigured the ship’s beaming technology. They used it to grab a sizeable chunk of the planet’s ocean and rematerialize it right above the pier. The resulting wave of water was enough to finally extinguish the fire, though it did knock a few people to the ground.

“Quick thinking, Rodney,” John said. He bumped their shoulders, looking concerned when Rodney grimaced. “Are you okay?” Before Rodney could answer, John was pulling at his TAC vest and checking for wounds.

“Just sore from where the hose got me,” Rodney admitted.

John's frown grew. “Colonel Caldwell,” John said, taking their leave as he led Rodney away by the elbow. “Let’s get you to the infirmary.” He hustled Rodney back to Atlantis and into the nearest transporter.

Rodney was ready and pressed the area closest to their quarters instead. “I just need a shower. Maybe a nap.” When the doors opened, he hopped out and walked down the hall with John hovering protectively.

“Are you sure?” John asked as their door slid open.

Rodney smirked his answer, dropping his TAC vest on a chair before pulling his t-shirt off and throwing it on top. “Come take a shower,” he said.

John studied Rodney for a moment before leaning in for a quick kiss. “Be there in a minute.” 

True to his word, he soon joined Rodney under the hot spray. Rodney pulled John close, letting the water flow over them as John’s hands carefully explored Rodney’s sides and back to check for injuries. Rodney leaned back and looked him in the eye. “Just makin' sure,” John said, before distracting him with a kiss.

Rodney stepped out of the shower while John lingered, his nakedness partially obscured by the steam. After drying off while enjoying the view, Rodney put on a pair of boxers and t-shirt that John had brought in for him. Upon going out into the bedroom, he found another note.

“Where, indeed?” he asked himself. Vancouver would give him a chance to continue rebuilding his relationship with Jeannie. But Maui…. Well, Maui would be good for _both_ of them. 

When John walked out of the bathroom wearing only striped cotton boxers that threatened to fall off his hips at any moment, Rodney reached out greedily and pulled him down onto the bed. After a few nibbling kisses, John leaned up. “So, what do you think?”

“Both?” Rodney responded.

John snorted a laugh and tucked himself close to Rodney. They lay together in the dimming light, letting the stress of the day slowly fade. As Rodney’s eyes grew heavy, the last thing he saw was the second post-it haphazardly stuck atop the other.

~*~*~

After the fire, things slowed down to a lower rate of crazy, rather than what had become their new normal since resettling in Pegasus. The Wraith still threatened from time to time, but far less often since they'd helped Todd spread the retrovirus, and the Wraith civil war that resulted. Finally, sleeping through the night became more of a norm than a rare pleasure. Most mornings, John woke Rodney up with gentle bites on an earlobe, or the drag of dull fingernails along his bare hip (their boxers having been abandoned during the night).

But as Rodney blinked away the heavy blanket of sleep, his outstretched arms found only John’s pillow, abandoned among cooled sheets. It wasn’t his normal morning run, because they'd gotten a new battalion of Marines three days ago. As Rodney stretched, he figured John had gone to put the newbies through orientation. Or, more likely, watch Ronon put the newbies through orientation, while John 'supervised'.

After hugging John’s pillow and inhaling deeply, Rodney sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He reached for his radio, and found a new note next to the charger.

So much for breakfast _or_ lunch with John, if he was making plans for afterwards. Rodney took the note and stuck it on top of the other two. He wasn’t sure why he was saving them, except that, one time in John’s office he'd found every note he’d ever written him stacked on the corner of the desk. 

With a glance at the chain of notes, Rodney sighed as he reached for his radio, only to hear an urgent overhead call for him and Zelenka from a frantic-sounding Chuck. “Well, shit,” he muttered as he glanced at the shower. “McKay here,” he said into the radio as he tucked it in his ear before pulling on last night’s clothes.

Even though the situation ended up not being quite as dire as Chuck had thought, Rodney ended up working through both breakfast and lunch. He would have worked straight through dinner, too, if John, bootlaces untied, hadn't walked in with a couple of sandwiches in hand.

“Hey,” John said, putting the sandwiches next to Rodney’s keyboard. And though John was quite a private person, he reached out and stuck a finger through a beltloop on the back of Rodney’s BDUs. “Thought I’d…” He gestured to the sandwiches with his free hand before stepping back.

“Wait,” Rodney said, as John reached up and scratched the back of his neck. “I thought we…”

John tried to hide his disappointment. “We don’t have to. You’re-” and then gestured to the computer.

  
“Colonel,” Zelenka offered, still typing. “Issue was fixed an hour ago. We’re just cleaning things up so it doesn’t happen again.” He looked up before insisting, “Rodney, _go_. I can handle the rest.”

“You sure, Radek?” John asked. But before Zelenka could respond, Rodney saved his progress, closed his laptop, grabbed John by his TAC vest, and dragged him out of the lab.

~*~*~

The call for help from the Athosian settlement left a bad taste in Rodney’s mouth. They were pretty self-sufficient, though Atlantis personnel helped with plowing, planting, and harvesting. John joined Lorne’s team, along with Teyla, Kanaan, and Ronon to help evacuate people caught in the flash flooding that inundated the settlement. Rodney tried to go, too, but John ordered him to stay back, muttering something about _Rodney’s_ _previous_ _experience with flooding_. So Rodney hung around the Control Room, ostensibly adjusting the long-range sensors, until the jumpers returned.

John and the others had barely been back five minutes when the gate connected. 

“Unscheduled off-world activation,” Chuck announced. After a few keystrokes, he added, “It’s Keras’ IDC.”

“Keras?” John said as he jogged back into the Control Room to stand next to Rodney. John gave a small smile as he gripped his elbow for a moment. The small gesture was the equivalent of a welcome back kiss from anyone else.

“Colonel Sheppard?” Keras normally came to Atlantis, because he preferred face-to-face communication. Instead, only his voice came through, interrupted by a cough.

“You okay?” Rodney asked, concerned when the only response was more coughing. “Keras?”

John and Rodney shared a look, but before John could radio sickbay, Keras finally responded. “My apologies, but many people have taken ill.” After another round of coughing, which unnerved Rodney enough to steal a dollop of Amelia’s hand sanitizer, Keras asked, “Would it be possible to get some assistance? Perhaps have one of your healers visit us?”

John looked at Woolsey, who nodded. “Okay, Keras. We’ll put together a couple of teams. Has the illness hit all the villages, or just yours?”

“I’m afraid it’s all of them, Colonel. Whatever it was spread rapidly. We've only lost a very small number of people, but our caregivers are overwhelmed. I had to leave two days ago to make the trek to the Ancestral ring, and I fear it could only have gotten worse in my absence.”

John looked around, seeing concern echoed in each expression. “Tell you what, Keras. You rest. We’ll dial you back in a couple of hours and pick you up on the way to the settlement.”

Woolsey looked like he had a number of concerns, but Rodney knew John would win this battle. 

“Thank you for your kindness. I look forward to seeing you soon.” The gate disconnected, cutting off the sound of more coughing.

“Okay, let’s make this quick,” John said as he took Rodney's elbow to direct them to Woolsey’s office.

~*~*~

True to his word, John and Lorne got approval to take two medical teams and as much medicine as they could carry to help Keras and his people. They would be gone a minimum of three days; maybe more. Rodney wanted to go, of course, because if something technical needed to be done, he wanted to be right there. Also, he'd miss John sleeping at his side every night. Jeannie had told him that he was getting sentimental 'in his old age', and perhaps he was. But whatever the reason, he was reluctant to let go of John now that he’d gotten his arms around him.

After a quick dinner, then a private goodbye kiss (gained with the stratagem of 'Hey, Rodney, can you look at something with me for a sec?') in the back of Jumper 7, John took off in the jumper with Evan as copilot. Rodney waited to hear that they’d picked up Keras before heading home for the evening.

As soon as he walked into their quarters, he saw another note waiting for him.

Rodney doubted he'd sleep well with John off-world, but maybe he could use the time to catch up on a scientific journal or two. After adding the note to the bottom of the chain, he started the tub filling with steaming water (and just a few bubbles), then grabbed a bottle of water, a red pen, and a couple of journals. Now he just had to distract himself until John was back.

~*~*~

John and Lorne returned to Atlantis six days later. Just in time, too, because Lorne and one of Rodney’s scientists (Parnes? Paris? Rodney couldn't remember anyone in botany besides Katie) were to be married. There was a not-so-minor hitch, in that Evan had caught the illness and hadn't kept anything down since the night before last. The ceremony was only two days away, and Evan refused to put it off. He stayed in the infirmary overnight and had Carson pump him full of antibiotics. His stubbornness paid of, and he only wobbled a tiny bit as they stood at the altar.

At least he did better than Carson; he’d been so stressed that when Cadman walked into the makeshift chapel in her wedding dress, he'd passed out cold.

The mood was quite light after the ceremony and reception. And as John sent Lorne and Parrish off to a secluded cabin for their honeymoon, it got Rodney thinking. People had paired off, just as they had on the first trip to Pegasus. This time it had less to do with stress relief, and distraction from outbursts of Wraith activity and emergencies caused by too little power, and more with settling down. There were even children being born on the base, turning it more into a community than a frontier outpost.

Thing was, John was probably one of the most private people he’d ever known. On the other hand, he knew John had been married once, so he couldn’t be _that_ averse to the idea. He checked his watch, realizing it was almost time for the weekly dial out. 

“Hey, John?” Rodney said as John broke away from Teyla and Ronon. “I need to go grab my laptop for the dial out. You wanna come back and talk to Jeannie?”

John rubbed the back of his neck again, and Rodney wondered if he was nervous because of the wedding. “I, uh,” John said, hiking a thumb over one shoulder.

“Hey, Shep?” one of the Marines called. 

“Yeah, okay,” Rodney said, quietly disappointed as he watched John’s retreating figure.

After a few minutes, Rodney made his excuses and went to grab his favorite laptop from the lab. Underneath it were two more notes.

Hm. Maybe he and John _were_ on the same page. And maybe the little velvet box he’d had Jeannie ship out – containing identical platinum bands with a galaxy of small diamonds studded around the band – would come in handy after all. Rodney smiled hopefully, but then saw the second note. “Huh?”

What was '???' supposed to mean? It didn’t make any sense...

Before Rodney could put any more thought into it, he heard the all-call for “Scheduled Earth dial-in, T-minus five minutes.” He stuck the two notes to his laptop and double-timed it to their quarters.

After adding the notes to the others, Rodney opened his laptop and settled at the desk. As soon as the connection to Earth was made, Rodney opened his video conference application and called Jeannie. They'd only have fifteen minutes, but since he'd gotten her back into his life, he tried to chat as often as he could.

As Jeannie picked up, a cacophony of voices and what sounded like banging filled the tinny speakers. 

“What in the hell?” He looked closer as the camera on Jeannie’s computer de-pixelated. “Did you move to a war zone?”

Instead of Jeannie, Madison’s face appeared. And even though she's now eight, she still doesn't quite get how the computer camera works, so Rodney was treated to a close-up of his niece’s nostrils. “Maddy?”

“ _Mommy! Daddy! It’s uncle Mer!_ ” Madison screamed, luckily after she turned away from the microphone. “Hi, uncle Meredith!” Madison said with a wave. “Did you get the picture I drew you?”

Rodney smiled. No, he didn’t like kids. But he _adored_ his niece. “Yes, Madison,” he said, then pointed to the wall. “It’s right over there.”

“Over where?” Madison got close to the computer, as if it might help her look around the laptop screen.

Rodney turned the entire laptop so it faced his bulletin board, where Madison’s latest picture hung. But instead of seeing her picture, he saw the chain of post-it notes as if for the first time.

He couldn’t believe it. “That… That _bastard_!” Rodney shouted. He sputtered for a few more seconds until Madison dragged him out of his stupor.

“ _Moooommm! Uncle Mer said a bad word!_ ”

“Meredith?” And of _course_ Jeannie would choose right then to appear. “What are you doing teaching my child bad language?”

“Jeannie? I gotta go!”

It was Jeannie’s turn to sputter. “What? What do you mean, you’ve got to go? Mer, _you called us_!”

“Next dial out, I promise.” He finally took his eyes off the wall – off John’s extended, obviously carefully planned proposal – and looked at her. “I’ll have news. I gotta go.” And before Jeannie could even protest, Rodney shut the laptop and started rummaging through his belongings.

~*~*~

Rodney paced, the wedding bands in his pocket seeming like weights around his feet with every step. Not that the prospect of marrying John was bad. But John hadn’t come back yet. He’d tried the radio, but was told by John’s temporary second in command that John wasn’t available. So Rodney paced. And waited. And paced some more.

When Rodney found his eyes growing heavy, he radioed again, and finally got John. “I’m almost done, Rodney,” John said. “Sorry, there was this thing…”

Rodney caught sight of the block of post-it notes on the corner of the desk, and had an idea. “It’s okay, John. Take your time. I’ll be here.” 

Rodney keyed off the radio, wrote a quick note, and stuck it on John’s bedside table. Pulling the velvet box from his pocket, he took the rings out and arranged them next to the note. Then he crawled under the covers, waiting for John to come home so they could start the next chapter in their lives – together.


End file.
